Ups and Downs of Stress
by anxious.soul
Summary: Five times Tony was ill and one of his friends helped him. 1 time he was ill and everyone was there. No Powers. High School AU.


**Prompt was given to me by LoLoLaLaLoula (on AO3) and it was: "Can you do another one of those high school AU with a younger Tony and protective avengers...maybe one where Tony is sick and overworking himself and the team takes care of him...all cuddly and fluffy!"**

 **Disclaimer: It should be obvious that I don't own Marvel or the Avengers and personally**

 **Crossposted on my AO3, which is anxious_soul**

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 **1: Steve**

"Holy shit, Tony!" Steve exclaimed as he met his friend by their lockers,

"What?" The younger teenager asked as he blinked his eyes sleepily and dumped his books in his locker,

"You've got a nosebleed! How can you not have noticed that?" As he spoke a trail of blood trailed down from his nose and cut across his lip, with a slightly shaking hand Tony wiped at it,

"Huh." He muttered as he stared at his blood-smeared hand,

"Come on, we're going to the nurse."

"Steve, it's just a nosebleed." Tony complained as the eighteen-year-old dragged him along, "Wait, are you afraid of blood?" He snarked in perfect Tony-Stark style

"Tony. You forget I take advanced biology and the other day I was doing some reading and do you know what a nosebleed can mean? I didn't think so." Steve rambled, "It could mean you have high blood pressure, which would then mean you are more prone to heart problems! This is serious Tony!" Steve added at the sixteen-year-old (who, despite his age, was taking the Senior's classes as he would be graduating at the same time as everyone).

"'m sorry, Stevie." It came out mumbled through the blood.

They entered the school nurse's office and she all but sighed when she spied Tony,

"Mr Stark as much as I love and care for you, I do wish we would stop seeing each other." Everyone loved the nurse because of her attitude. She was kind, loving and sweet. She clearly cared for her students, but at the same time she had a funny and sassy attitude that allowed her to get on with everyone,

"S'rry, Ms Cho." She just sighed and gestured for him to take a seat,

"Mr Rogers," She was also the only person to really call people by their surnames (teachers only ever did that if they were annoyed), "Thank you for bringing him to me, but I believe you have football practice now." The blond looked hesitant to leave but nodded and said goodbye.

Steve met Tony after practice. The shorter teen smiled that shy and genuine smile that only the Avengers (that's what Steve and Tony's group of friends were called, they were also known all around school and the majority of the school called them that too) were allowed to see.

"You alright?"

"You were right. I have high blood pressure." Blue eyes stared down at him and Tony clutched his books tightly to his chest as he looked down at the ground, Steve wrapped an arm around the younger boy, "Today wasn't the first time I've been to Ms Cho with a nosebleed. She decided that three days in a row -most of which I've had multiple nosebleeds- means I should get tested."

"And?" Steve asked worry evident in his voice and eyes,

"I mean I've not got anything wrong with me. My hearts the same and all." Tony answered knowing what the blond was worrying about, "She just said I need to get more sleep."

"Yes. You do." Steve looked down at him with wide eyes that said the exact thing. Tony just gave the larger man the same smile as before and Steve tightened his grip, pulling the small teen in for a hug before insisting that he drove Tony home later that day to make sure the younger boy was alright and got some food and sleep. Though he was hesitant to agree, Tony still did with that perfect smile of his.

 **—LINE BREAK—**

 **2: Thor**

"My friend!" Bellowed Thor as he stared down at Tony, who was clutching the wall like it was his lifeline, "How fare thee?" The Shakespeare drama student asked worriedly,

"I'm fine, Thor." Though it was clear he wasn't,

"Come my friend let me take you to the wonderful healer Cho." His voice was significantly quieter now and Thor gently wrapped an arm around Tony to help him walk easier as the younger boy tilted too far to the side and almost fell over. "You are not well, my friend, tis no worry to ask for assistance."

"Thanks, Big Guy," Tony whispered as he squinted, the lights above were blinding him and making him dizzier, Thor just smiled down at him.

"Easy, my friend." The large eighteen-year-old said as he gently set Tony down on the sofa in Cho's office.

"Here again, Mr Stark." Tutted the nurse as she entered, "Thank you for bringing him to me, Mr Odinson."

"Tis not a problem. May I stay to make sure Anthony is well?"

"Normally I would say no, but…I'll let you off this time." She stated and began to ask the pale teen what his symptoms were, "It's just vertigo, which is bad, but I don't think you need to go to the hospital or anything. I want you to stay in here," She pointed to the room at the back where students went if they couldn't go back to class and were in bad shape, "until either you feel better or you can go home. But I need you to try and get some sleep, I'll turn the lights off and it's very quiet in there, so hopefully, you'll feel better soon." Tony murmured something unintelligible but she took it as him agreeing before turning to Thor, who was still standing there sending Tony a concerned expression. "Mr Odinson, would it be alright if you and your friends collected his homework and schoolwork. Of course, I won't make him do it now!" She stated at his narrowed eyes, "But, I don't want him to fall behind no matter how intelligent he is, he still has to do his work."

"I will and I'll come and check on you later, Anthony." Thor murmured patting his friend on his hand before reluctantly going back to class.

True to his word, Thor returned at the end of the day with all of Tony's schoolwork and homework before insisting he drive Tony home and making sure the younger boy got some rest.

 **—LINE BREAK—**

 **3: Bruce**

They were working in the lab alone. Bruce and Tony had permission to use the labs as long as they were safe about it due to their intellect. The mousy-haired eighteen-year-old looked up from his experiment when he heard a faint whimper, but nothing looked out of the ordinary so he returned to his work.

Tony, who sat on the opposite end of the room wasn't exactly doing a science experiment, but he was in the 'workshop' part of the room and was continuing to make his robot. He held back several whimpers but couldn't hold back the one that Bruce heard, thankfully the older teen didn't seem to realise the problem. He felt his arms weaken as he held a screwdriver. The pain in his head intensified and there was no hiding his suffering.

Bruce looked up again at the sound of a larger whimper followed by a crash. Turning swiftly, he rushed over to Tony, who was on the floor. He was pale and shaking as he clutched his head in agony.

"Tony!" He exclaimed but hastily quietened at the whine his friend released. Understanding dawned on him and he dimmed the lighting. "Ssh it's alright." He whispered not knowing how to comfort, "Let's get you to Ms Cho."

"'urts." Tony slurred quietly with a choked sob,

"I know it's ok. I'm going to put my jacket over your head to cover you from the light a little bit, alright?" Tony nodded, which only made things worse as he released another whimper. Unfortunately on their way tot he nurses office the school bell rang signalling the end of one lesson and the start of the next. Bruce quickly placed his hands gently over Tony's ears to try and block out the sound of students shouting and rushing about around them. He pulled the now crying teen off to the side and out of the way as neither of them would easily be able to get to the nurse's office without either losing each other or Tony falling over.

Finally, they reached Ms Cho, who took one look at him and rushed him off into the other room where it was dark and quiet. Once he was settled in the bed in there, she went back to Bruce.

"I see. He's come to me once before about a migraine, but it hasn't been for a while." She commented after Bruce told her all he knew. "Has he by chance been working on a large project or something?" She asked confusing Bruce, who just nodded, "I see." He still looked confused, "Some of the causes of migraines are stress and exhaustion. If he's been working on something big, I can guarantee his migraines are because of that." Bruce nodded again but with a contemplative expression,

"He tends to overwork himself." He murmured and she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, leading him out of her office,

"Thank you for bringing him here Mr Banner -or should I be saying _Doctor_ Banner?" The teenager blushed as the woman teased him,

"Not quite there yet, Ms Cho." He whispered and she smiled at him kindly.

 **—LINE BREAK—**

 **4: Natasha**

"You look like shit." Tony startled at the sudden voice and looked up to find Natasha sitting next to him in homeroom,

"Wow. Thanks, Nat. You say the sweetest words." He deadpanned only his voice was croaky and he had to stop and cough as he spoke,

"Seriously, you look like death. Should you even be here?"

"I-" His sentence was cut off as he sneezed violently into a tissue, "am perfectly-" This time he was interrupted by a thunderous cough and once done he massaged his throat as he sucked in as much air as he could, "fine." As he finished his sentence his voice was squeaky like a mouse. "Honest." He added at her 'are-you-serious' expression…or at least he tried to say that as his voice seemed to have stopped working properly,

"Come with me." They exited the empty classroom (they had arrived early) and Natasha led him to her locker.

"Are you going to kill me?" He whispered hoarsely as he saw the rows of knives hidden in her locker, the eighteen-year-old chuckled but grabbed a large blanket that by all means shouldn't have been able to fit in there and threw it around Tony, wrapping it around him until he was nothing more than a burrito with his eyes and feet showing. She began to push him towards the nurse's office, where Tony was becoming a regular patient.

"Ms Cho. I have someone for you." Natasha called as she knocked on the door,

"Already? School hasn't even started yet!" They heard Helen mutter as she unlocked her door and opened it, eyebrows raised before she took a look at her patient and she sighed in resignation, "Mr Stark." Tony mumbled something incomprehensible from beneath the blanket, "I suppose the burrito is your doing, Miss Romanov?"

"Yes, ma'am." Smirked the Russian teenager in blatant amusement and pride.

"Well, come on in then. Mr Stark, you are clearly ill, why on earth did you bother to come to school today?"

"Help!" Is all he said and Cho touched his forehead, which was very warm. The two carefully unravelled him, "…I had things to do." He sniffled,

"Mr Stark, how many times must I tell you that your health is far more important than work of any form before it'll sink in?" She asked rhetorically,

"Anyway, it seems like it's just a cold, however, I am sending you home."

Later that evening, Natasha climbed through Tony's bedroom window (because using the door and allowing people to know she's there is far too easy) and gently dropped onto Tony's bed.

"I've got your homework."

"Y'know…if I wasn't this ill and tired…I'd probably scream." He murmured as he squinted at her sleepily, "Plus…I'm not entirely sure if you're really here or…not." He yawned before sneezing and coughing painfully.

"Works on your desk." She whispered as his eyes slowly closed and breathing evened, patting his duvet-covered leg, she climbed back out of the window to leave, "Get well soon."

 **—LINE BREAK—**

 **5: Clint**

"So I was thinking about throwing a party this weekend," Clint whispered as they sat in the library studying -well Tony was, Clint was just tossing an apple up and down before finally biting into it. Tony nodded but said nothing, he felt like throwing up and was worried he would if he spoke. "You wanna come?"

"Sure." He muttered absentmindedly rubbing his stomach, Tony was barely paying attention to Clint's rambling, he was too focused on keeping his stomach down.

He shot up, startling Clint who fell off of his chair, Tony ran out of the library not caring about the distraction he was causing. He stumbled into the closest bathroom, the older teenager hot on his heels as Tony threw himself into a stall and began to puke his guts out. He faintly noticed Clint rubbing his back soothingly as Tony placed his forehead on the cool wall,

"Jesus Christ, Tones." Before Clint could say anything else, the younger boy was throwing up again and again _and again_ until nothing else would come up and he was left dry heaving breathlessly. "Let's get you to Ms Cho."

The nurse merely sighed as usual and pointed for Clint to help Tony sit down and get a bucket for the pale looking boy.

"Thank you for bringing him to me, Mr Barton. You may go now." She murmured in exasperation as she stared at Tony who was once again puking up the water Clint had given him on their way to Cho.

"But-"

"Mr Barton, please. I don't know if it's a virus or not, so unless you want to possibly catch whatever he may have, then feel free to stay." Though she clearly didn't mean it and with a pointed look at him, Clint sighed and walked out,

"Get better soon, Tony." He called waving at the boy despite walking away.

Despite it being a complete breach of privacy, Clint stood outside leaning against the wall as he listened in on the two.

"Honestly Mr Stark, it isn't healthy for someone to show up this many times within the space of a single month!" She exclaimed and Clint could practically see her waving her hands everywhere as she spoke, "First it was the nosebleed, then vertigo, after that it was migraines, next was a cold and now vomiting! This isn't healthy, I'm seriously worried about you, Mr Stark. I fear all of this is leading up to something and I most certainly know it's all linked to stress!"

"Ms Cho," Clint winced at the hoarseness of Tony's voice, "I'm not stressed."

"Damn it, Tony," He winced again, Helen Cho was a calm woman who rarely if ever used first names or spoke like that, but hearing her say that just showed how frustrated and upset she was, "Your nosebleeds were caused by high blood pressure which can be caused by stress, you had no heart or serious medical problems, therefore, it was stress. With the vertigo, I found no ear infection or anything so whilst the cause was unknown, I can guarantee it had something to do with you being stressed and not sleeping properly. After that you had a couple of migraines, those _were_ caused by you being stressed, exhausted and not taking care of yourself. If your immune and nervous system is already bad then you are prone to contracting illnesses such as colds far easier than normal! Now you're vomiting and look to be on Death's door, which can only help to prove that you haven't been eating or sleeping and you're stressed as Hell!" She exclaimed loudly and Clint gulped before deciding he had invaded too much on his friend and decided to leave (he totally didn't then proceed to tell the others about Tony…).

 **—LINE BREAK—**

 **+1: Everyone**

Waking up, Tony couldn't help but stumble backwards against his bed. He felt a bit dizzy but he (unhelpfully) shook his head and continued to get dressed in some jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt, his hoodie was downstairs, so Tony headed out of his room. As he walked down the corridor, his hands began to feel clammy and he had to stop once or twice the clear the spots in front of his chocolate eyes. He yawned as he began to walk down the stairs before he felt himself tilting too far on one side and his world darkened. A sickening crack and a brief amount of pain before he knew nothing.

Eyes fluttered open slowly. He felt confused and dizzy. Someone helped him sit up better and after closing his eyes and opening them again, Tony found that his vision had cleared. Around him were his friends.

"Hey, guys." He whispered before wincing and bringing his arm up to his forehead…or at least he tried, but found it was covered in a cast. He looked around and began to realise he was in the hospital. "What happened?" He asked and Natasha sat beside him on the bed in an uncharacteristically maternal way. Her hand gently ran through his hair.

"Jarvis said you fainted and fell down the stairs. You've got a broken arm and cut on your forehead. Possibly a concussion too." She added when he suddenly threw up into a bucket that Steve hastily put in front of him.

"Ugh." He groaned.

"Tony, do you know why all of this has happened?" Bruce asked almost rhetorically, "It's because you haven't been eating enough. Sleeping enough or drinking enough water - and no coffee does not count. You're stressed too."

"Tony, what's going on?" Clint asked quietly as the room fell silent,

"I…I'm trying to finish my robot, Dum-E. I…you know how I go up to MIT when we graduate in three months? If I complete Dum-E before then, then I get to enter him into their annual robotics comp."

"There's more, isn't there?" Thor added and Tony looked down at his lap,

"I made a deal with my dad that if I build Dum-E in time, he's got to be nice and hang out with me for a day." Murmurs of understanding echoed through the room, "Anyway, shouldn't you guys be at school?"

"Yes," Natasha answered bluntly and Tony looked horrified,

"You shouldn't be missing it because of me."

"Tony. Shut up." Steve interrupted before Tony could be any more worried, "We're here because we care about you." The boy smiled gently at his friends and they grinned back at him.

The Avengers sat around all day with Tony. They talked, they laughed and they grinned. Telling jokes and stories. Clint tried to mention what happened in Budapest, but Natasha elbowed him hard enough for Clint to realise he should shut up. Thor told them about his brother's newest misdeed (which was nothing out of the ordinary as Loki tended to get up to at least one thing every week). Steve went on to mention how the schools bully (who was on the football team with the blond) managed to burn his eyebrows off whilst trying to show off (karma at its finest). Of course, Bruce then began to inform Tony about some incredible science-related thing that no one else understood but made the two laugh and grin. Despite being in the hospital, the day was…brilliant. Tony couldn't remember the last time he smiled so much.

(In the end, Tony still managed to complete Dum-E, he even came first in the Fourth Annual MIT Robot Design Award, which was fantastic. The sixteen soon to be seventeen-year-old spent the day celebrating with his friends -who remained his friends despite them all except for Bruce going to different colleges/universities though they were still nearby. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Howard didn't keep his side of their bargain and continued to ignore his son as per usual. But…Tony had fantastic and caring friends, so…it really wasn't that much of a loss).

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 **Anyway,**  
 **Thank you for reading,**  
 **Hope you enjoyed this,**  
 **Please review,**  
 **No hate -don't like, don't read**

 **Bye~**


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